The comhairle has been criticised for not using an extra £729,000 funding to soften any immediate hits to services.
The additional last minute cash -
The SNP group of councillors wanted the cash to offset cuts facing services.
The authority has a £3.75 million deficit after taking account of the additional funding, councillors were told.
Councillors today (Thurs) voted for a range of cuts, savings, increased fees, and service redesign exercises when it agreed its budget and spending plans for the coming year.
Council tax rises by nearly 5% -
Some £61,000 could be saved from forthcoming bus contracts for Uist and Barra and £400,000 from reducing road maintenance.
A 25% cut looms for various services including street cleaning, grants for childcare providers, public convenience funding support as well as funding for Gaelic initiatives and bringing the Royal National Mod to the Western Isles.
There is a potential 5% reduction in additional support school staff for pupils with additional support needs.
Increased charges are earmarked for sports centre membership, some childcare provision for under threes, and the refuse collection of bulky household items.
Many reviews are being undertaken including school staffing, the janitor service in schools and the economic development department.
The hospitality budget held by chief executive's department will be cut by half to £10,000.
Savings are set to be made to the community skips service while £70,000 could be gained by minimising grounds maintenance to grass cutting.
Redesigning the islands' library service to integrate with schools and customer services, including a two mobile van service, should achieve a £144,000 saving.
"Reducing and refocusing" funding for the community bus service is on the cards.
Some £230,000 could be saved by rolling out executive headships in the schools' network.
A number of the proposals need to be assessed and require final approval by councillors.
Cllr Charlie Nicolson urged in vain to limit the council tax rise to 2%, ditch a proposal to close the Perceval Square toilets and drop plans to not have any staff at the Stornoway bus station.
At the same meeting, SNP councillors failed to gain support for their proposal to freeze council tax, award £100,000 to Bethesda Hospice plus £80,000 to reinstate dental services in South Uist.
The SNP group said £4 million of the cash the council was sitting on should be used to soften the blow for islanders.
Council leader Roddie Mackay lambasted their proposals as “preposterous and totally reckless.”
“It suggests we decimated balances” which would mean a much worse budget next year, he added.
Mr Mackay said the council has received 14% less -
He added: “The council strives to provide the best service it can for our community, educating our children, looking after the vulnerable, keeping our roads safe and recycling our waste.”
Cash for significant projects has been reduced by some £1.4 million by the Scottish Government, which if the trend continues, risks a £5 million shortfall in investment for roads, harbours and infrastructure as well as regeneration schemes and council support for community projects, he indicated.
There is “no alternative to an urgent review" of the council’s investment programme which has spearheaded major flagship construction projects for a modern residential care development in Stornoway and a new school within a community campus on.
SNP group leader, Gordon Murray stated: “These cuts are going to affect our people and communities, our children and our vulnerable.”
The council is retaining excess cash instead of using it to stave off cuts, he stressed.
“Why make cuts when we have the money,” he queried.
Local authority watchdog, Audit Scotland, had highlighted the “number one risk” is of the council’s “too high” setting of centrally held resources,” he said.
The council underspends its budgets then increases council tax by the maximum, “not because it needs too, but just because it can,” he criticised.
Point councillor Alasdair Macleod said the SNP failed to accept the “unpalatable truth” of the Scottish Government “slashing” our core budget for six years.”
Broadbay councillor Donald Critchon called the SNP’s proposals “irresponsible.”
The council would be at “rock bottom, issuing compulsory redundancies and in an absolute financial mess” if it had gone along with similar SNP proposals to use up all balances back in 2013, he insisted.
Comhairle criticised for not allocating £729,000 budget bonus to offset cuts
27 February 2020